encroachment
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Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of encroachment
1425–75; late Middle English encrochement < Anglo-French. See encroach, -ment
Explanation
An encroachment is something that intrudes and has the power to influence whatever it encounters. Some might consider text messaging to be an encroachment of impersonal technology on true, heartfelt interactions. Encroachment carries the sense of something slowly creeping into something else's space, either literally or figuratively. An encroachment can be of the physical variety, such as the encroachment of new development into a beautiful coastal area. Encroachment typically has a slightly a negative meaning, hinting at something that intrudes on something and then spoils it in some way.
Vocabulary lists containing encroachment
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Federalist Papers, No. 51 by James Madison
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The new technology was all the more vital given the frequency with which viruses are now emerging due to population growth, greater movement across borders and human encroachment on animal habitats, he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
And yet, the encroachment on academic freedom has become both more extreme and more inchoate.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Akbarzadeh said Iran would “not allow any kind of encroachment upon its waters and interests.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
If the former Beatle does join them backstage, he may find that the encroachment of age has altered their pre-show rituals.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
From the time the first Portuguese explorer, Pedro Álvares Cabral, discovered Brazil in the year 1500, the Indian population was negatively impacted—from disease to enslavement to encroachment on their land and way of life.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Patrolling has also reduced small-scale encroachments, but infrastructure projects including multiple dams are still driving deforestation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
In addition, government figures reveal that more than 600,000 trees have been felled in Kashmir over the last five years after being identified as river encroachments.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2025
In response, tech-savvy users are taking to social media platforms and encrypted messaging apps to warn their communities, in real time, of encroachments from immigration agents.
From Slate ● May 16, 2025
Friends of Hidden Beach was born out of fears that past and future private encroachments would continue to erode public access.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
I tried to picture him, working at his laptop in our sunny kitchen, but the image was spoilt by encroachments from his new life.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
